Ireland agrees to ban the sentencing of children to adult prisons

On March 28th the Irish cabinet agreed to end the sentencing of children to adult prisons, a practice which had been in the past repeatedly criticized by various international human rights bodies.

This practice, which the previous government had committed to ending this practice by 2012, could now be banned within weeks. Under Irish law, the age of criminal responsibility is 12 years and any person under the age of 18 is a “child”, and as such, children will no longer be detained in adult prisons in the country.

Although it is not yet known exactly when the decision will take effect, Minister for Children Katherine Zappone tweeted that she would “be signing an order shortly to make this happen”.

The IJJO strongly supports and welcomes the decision of the Irish government to ban the sentencing of children to adult prisons.